Wagering-type card game

ABSTRACT

A multi-card stud poker game is provided for at least one player and a dealer. Players make at least one wager that the player&#39;s hand will exceed the dealer&#39;s hand. In the most preferred variant, the player and the dealer each receive a five-card sequential poker hand. The player&#39;s five cards present a one-card hand, a three-card hand and a five-card hand. The dealer&#39;s one-card hand is compared with the player&#39;s one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria. Likewise, the dealer&#39;s three-card hand and five-card hand are compared with the player&#39;s three-card hand and five-card hand, respectively. Each player is then paid a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, three-card and five-card wager. In preferred variants of the game the one-card wager is mandatory and the cards are dealt face up. In particularly preferred variants a world bet is included such that if the one-card, three-card and five-card wagers are all successful, then the world wager is also successful. Another particularly preferred variant includes a bonus bet wherein if the player&#39;s one-card, three-card or five-card hands match certain preselected poker criteria then the bonus wager is also successful. The game may also be played with an electronic apparatus including a display, a player interface for receiving player input, and a processor configured to effect game play.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to card games. More particularly, the invention relates to wagering card games suitable for gaming establishments and other environments.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Gaming establishments are always looking for new card games. Such games typically allow each player to play against a banker (who usually also acts as dealer) provided by the casino (Ante Bets), or play to match predetermined poker criteria, i.e. rank (Pair Plus Bets). Players typically enjoy games which can be played rapidly and offer a variety of choices. Variety heightens player interest in the game. It would therefore be desirable to provide card games including a plurality of new wagering options.

[0005] Problematically, some poker games seem complicated for the novice. The rules or odds may seem too complex. Some do not wish to learn to play in front of more experienced players. Additionally, inexperienced players may be intimidated by a new poker game which seems hard to learn. What is needed is a game which provides for extremely simple rules, rapidity of play and multiple wagering options for game enjoyment and optimizing house revenue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention provides a multi-card stud poker game with extremely simple rules, rapid play and a plurality of betting choices. The game is played with at least one player and a dealer. The game may also be played with an electronic apparatus including a display, a player interface for receiving player input, and a processor configured to effect game play, as well as on the Internet.

[0007] Players make at least one wager that the player's hand will exceed the dealer's hand (the ante bet). The player and the dealer each receive a multi-card sequential poker hand. In the preferred embodiment, the player's five cards present a one-card hand, a three-card hand and a five-card hand, with the one-card hand being the ante bet. The dealer's one-card hand is compared with the player's one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria with certain optional changes. Likewise, the dealer's three-card hand and five-card hand are compared with the player's three-card hand and five-card hand, respectively. Each player is then paid a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, three-card and five-card wager. Preferably, the three-card and five-card bets are optional.

[0008] Another variant of the game would provide, for example, only three cards dealt respectively to the player and the dealer. The player would bet on the one-card hand and optionally bet on the three-card, bettable hand. In its most general form a hand may consist of two to seven cards, with at least one ante bet.

[0009] In preferred variants of the game the one-card wager is mandatory and the cards are dealt face up. In particularly preferred variants the player's one-card hand is an automatic win if an ace or king shows, while it is an automatic loss if a two, three, four or five shows. A world bet may be included such that if the one-card, three-card and five-card wagers are all successful (or the one-card and bettable-card hand, for example, in the variant described above) then the world wager is also respectively successful. Another particularly preferred variant includes a bonus bet wherein if the player's one-card, three-card or five-card hands match certain preselected poker criteria then the bonus wager is also successful.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1 illustrates a playing surface (layout) of a casino-type table in accordance with the invention;

[0011] Fig.2 depicts a representative dealer five-card hand and a representative player five-card hand in more detail;

[0012]FIG. 3a illustrates a predetermined payout schedule for the five-card bonus wager in a preferred embodiment;

[0013]FIG. 3b illustrates a predetermined payout schedule for the three-card bonus wager in a preferred embodiment;

[0014]FIG. 3c illustrates a predetermined payout schedule for the one-card bonus wager in a preferred embodiment; and

[0015]FIG. 4 is schematic illustration of an electronic system in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Referring to the figures in general and FIG. 1 in particular a wagering-type card game or layout system 10 is illustrated. System 10 includes a table 12, a playing surface 14, a chip rack 16, a deck shoe 18, cash slot 20, and automatic card shuffler 22 (schematically shown). Table 12, also includes rail 24, deal side 26 and legs (not shown). Chip rack 16 houses chips 28.

[0017] Playing surface 14 includes a dealer station 30 (generally occupying the center of playing surface 14) and a plurality of player stations 32. Playing surface 14 also includes a dealer hand area 34 and a player hand area 36. Each player station 32 includes a main wager area 38 and a side wager area 40 (only the middle of the seven shown player stations 32 includes the detailed reference numerals 38 and 40 for ease of illustration). Main wager area 38 includes a one-card spot 42, and three-card spot 44 and a five-card wager spot 46. The side wager area 40 includes a bonus wager spot 48 and a world wager spot 50.

[0018] System 10 is used in accordance with the present invention in the following fashion. A dealer 52 and a plurality of players 54 (up to seven players 54 are provided for in the preferred embodiment) gather at table 12 with the dealer 52 generally located as indicated at dealer's side 26 and each player 54 generally located at a respective player station 32. Dealer 52 will receive at least one wager from each player 54 at the beginning of each hand. In the preferred embodiment a one-card wager is mandatory, so each player 54 who wishes to play that hand must place at least the minimum bet (ante bet) on the one-card wager spot 42 for his respective player station 32. All other bets may be played at the same time. In other words, a three-card wager may be placed on the three-card wager spot 44, a five-card wager may be placed on the five-card wager spot 46, a bonus wager may be placed on bonus wager spot 48 and a world wager may be placed on world wager spot 50.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 2, dealer hand area 34 and player hand area 36 are shown with more detail. In particular, dealer hand area 34 includes a dealer first card slot 56, a dealer second card slot 58, a dealer third card slot 60, a dealer fourth card slot 62, and a dealer fifth card slot 64. Player hand area 36 includes a player first card slot 66, a player second card slot 68, a player third card slot 70, a player fourth card slot 72, and a player fifth card slot 74. Dealer hand area 34 is configured so that a dealer one-card hand 76 is determined by inspection of a card 77 on dealer slot 56. Card 77 is illustrated to be an ace of spades in this example. Dealer hand area 34 is further configured so that a dealer three-card hand 80 is determined by inspection of cards 77, 82, and 84 respectively positioned at dealer first card slot 56, dealer second card slot 58 and dealer third card slot 60. Cards 82 and 84 are illustrated to be a seven of hearts and nine of clubs respectively in this example. Dealer hand area 34 is finally configured so that a dealer five-card hand 86 is determined by inspection of cards 77, 82, 84, 88 and 90 respectively positioned at dealer card slots 56 through 64. Cards 88 and 90 are illustrated to be a two of diamonds and a queen of spades respectively.

[0020] In analogous fishion, player hand area 36 is configured so that a player one-card hand 92 is determined by inspection of a card 94 on player slot 66. Card 94 is schematically illustrated to be the king of hearts in this example. Player hand area 36 is further configured so that a player three-card hand 96 is determined by inspection of cards 94, 98, and 100 respectively positioned at player slots 66 through 70. Cards 98 and 100 are illustrated to be a king of spades and a nine of diamonds respectively. Player hand area 36 is finally configured so that a player five-card hand 102 is determined by inspection of cards 94, 98, 100, 104 and 106 respectively positioned at player card slots 66 through 74. Cards 104 and 106 are illustrated to be a three of diamonds and a two of hearts respectively in this example.

[0021] After dealer five-card hand 86 and player five-card hand 102 have been dealt all bets are determined by comparision using general stud poker conventions as to priority of hands except for exceptions added by the house, as desired. For example, in preferred variants no priority is given for suit and an ace is always considered to be “high” In other words, in general, if player 54 and dealer 52 have identical hands except for suit, the result is a “push.”

[0022] Also, in particularly preferred variants the player's one-card hand is an automatic win if he has an ace or king, and an automatic loss if he has a two, three, four or five. Dealer 52 (or other authorized agent) will resolve each bet. Dealer one-card hand 76 is compared with player one-card hand 92. By casual inspection it will be noted that dealer one-card hand 76 is ace 77 and player one-card hand 92 is king 94. Therefore the bet placed by each player 54 at his respective one-card wager spot 42 is successful because the player's king 94 beats the dealer's ace 77 (note that in preferred variants one-card hand 92 of player 54 is automatically successful if an ace or king shows as in this example).

[0023] Next, dealer three-card hand 80 is compared with player three-card hand 96. It will be noted that dealer three-card hand 80 is composed of cards 77, 82 and 84. Player three-card hand 96 is composed of cards 94, 98 and 100. Therefore the bet placed by any player 54 at his respective three-card wager spot 44 is successful because the player's pair of kings beats the dealer's ace.

[0024] Finally, dealer five-card hand 86 is compared with player five-card hand 102. It will be noted that dealer five-card hand 86 is composed of cards 77, 82, 84, 88 and 90. Player five-card hand 102 is composed of cards 94, 98, 100, 104 and 106. Therefore the bet placed by any player 54 at his respective five-card wager spot 46 is successful because the player's pair of kings beats the dealer's ace. In summary, any one-card wagers were successful and the three-card and five-card wagers were successful in this example.

[0025] Any bets placed at world wager spot 50 are resolved by determination of the one-card, three-card and five-card bets. If all three of those bets are successful, then the world bet is also successful. In the preferred embodiment, the successful world bet pays eight to one. In the instance illustrated in FIG. 2, the world bet would be successful. In the event the one-card or three-card or five-card hand is a push, then the world bet is also a push.

[0026] Determination of the success of any bets placed at bonus wager spot 48 are resolved by reference to predetermined tables. The predetermined tables in the preferred embodiment of this invention are illustrated in FIGS. 3a, 3 b and 3 c where three tables are illustrated, namely a one-card bonus table (FIG. 3c), a three-card bonus table (FIG. 3b), and a five-card bonus table (FIG. 3a). Any bets placed on this bonus wager spot 48 would be successful by noting the occurrence, for example, of a three-card straight on player three-card hand 96 (note the three-card bonus table which provides on the third line for a straight and declaring a payout of three to one).

[0027] Once all hands have been compared all payouts are made, pushes are noted and all losing bets are collected.

[0028] In its most general form, the inventive game may be played with two to seven cards. The only requirement is that there at least two available (“bettable”) bets on the two to seven cards. For example, instead of five cards as in the most preferred variant, the player and dealer could each receive six cards and could compare the respective two-card hands and the respective six-card hands in analogous fashion with the procedure as illustrated in FIG. 2. Many variants could arise but the essence of the game is to have at least two bettable-card hands. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the bettable-card hands are the one-card hand 76, 92, the three-card hand 80, 96 and the five-card hand 86, 102.

[0029] While the foregoing preferred embodiments have been particularly described for play in a gaming establishment environment, it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in a wide variety of forms and media including, but not limited to, single player slot video machines, multi-player video machines, electronic games and devices, lottery terminals, scratch-card formats, software, as well as in-flight, home, and Internet entertainment. For example, referring to FIG. 4, a block diagram is illustrated showing the components of an electronic system 110 configured for playing a wagering-type card game in accordance with the invention. System 110 includes a display 112, a player interface 114, and processing circuitry or processor 116. The processing circuitry 116 effects game play in accordance with the rules of the game. The configuration of elements, illustrated in FIG. 4 is not to suggest any particular electronic, optical or other connections.

[0030] The system 110 can facilitate games for a single player 54 (not shown in FIG. 4) against system 110 however, it is also within the scope of the present invention to provide a multi-unit video format wherein a plurality of players 54 may play against each other and/or against a virtual dealer (not shown). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that suitable controls can be provided for receiving and processing the necessary inputs and therefore will not be described in detail herein. In addition, the invention can be readily implemented as a computer program product (e.g., floppy disk, compact disk (CD), etc.) comprising a computer readable medium having control logic recorded therein to implement the features of the invention as described in relation to the other preferred embodiments. The control logic can be loaded into the memory of a computer and executed by a central processing unit (CPU) to perform the operations described herein.

[0031] In addition, system 110 can include electronic, optical, or other communication with other players 118 as generically illustrated. Likewise processor 116 could be in electronic and/or photonic communication with other processors 120 as generically illustrated. One such example would be a player using his own PC, playing by communicating with a server on the Internet with or without other players.

[0032] Although the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and details may he made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the suit of the card could be considered for priority (as is normally done in stud poker) and therefore eliminate pushes. Likewise the ante bet could be the three-card hand or another bettable hand. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of playing a multi-card poker game with at least one player and a dealer, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving at least one wager from each player that the player's hand will exceed the dealer's hand, including the optional multiple card wagers; (b) receiving additional wagers as desired by each player; (c) dealing a sequential multi-card player hand, presenting a one-card player hand, and another, bettable-card hand; (d) dealing a sequential multi-card dealer hand, presenting a one-card dealer hand, and another, bettable-card hand; (e) comparing the dealer's one-card hand with the player's one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (f) comparing the dealer's other, bettable-card hand with the player's other, bettable-card hand; and (g) paying each player a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, and other, bettable-card hand.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the player's one-card hand and the player's bettable-card hand are both dealt before the dealer's one-card hand and the dealer's bettable-card hand.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein at step (b) a world wager is provided such that if a player bets on and wins the one-card wager and the bettable-card wager, then the world wager is also successful, and wherein step (g) includes paying each player a predetermined amount for a successful world wager.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein at step (b) a bonus wager is provided such that if the player's one-card, three-card or five-card hands match certain preselected poker criteria then the bonus wager is also successful, and wherein step (g) includes paying each player a predetermined amount for a successful bonus wager.
 5. A method of playing a five-card poker game with at least one player and a dealer, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving at least one wager from each player that the player's hand will exceed the dealer's hand, including the options of a one-card wager, three-card wager and a five-card wager; (b) receiving additional wagers as desired by each player; (c) dealing a sequential five-card player hand, presenting a one-card player hand, a three-card player hand and a five-card player hand; (d) dealing a sequential five-card dealer hand, presenting a one-card dealer hand, a three-card dealer hand and a five-card dealer hand; (e) comparing the dealer's one-card hand with the player's one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (f) comparing the dealer's three-card hand with the player's three-card hand; (g) comparing the dealer's five-card hand with the player's five-card hand; and (h) paying each player a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, three-card and five-card wager.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the player's one-card hand and the player's bettable-card hand are both dealt before the dealer's one-card hand and the dealer's bettable-card hand.
 7. The method of claim 5 wherein the five-card player hand is dealt face up.
 8. The method of claim 5 wherein the five-card dealer hand is dealt face up.
 9. The method of claim 5 wherein at step (b) a world wager is provided such that if a player bets on and wins the one-card wager, the three-card wager and the five-card wager, then the world wager is also successful, and wherein step (h) includes paying each player a predetermined amount for a successful world wager.
 10. The method of claim 5 wherein at step (b) a bonus wager is provided such that if the player's one-card, three-card or five-card hands match certain preselected poker criteria then the bonus wager is also successful, and wherein step (h) includes paying each player a predetermined amount for a successful bonus wager.
 11. A method of playing a five-card poker game with at least one player and a dealer, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a one-card wager from each player; (b) receiving a three-card wager, a five-card wager, a world wager and a bonus wager as desired by each player; (c) dealing a sequential five-card player hand, presenting a one-card player hand, a three-card player hand and a five-card player hand; (d) dealing a sequential five-card dealer hand, presenting a one-card dealer hand, a three-card dealer hand and a five-card dealer hand; (e) comparing the dealer's one-card hand with the player's one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (f) comparing the dealer's three-card hand with the player's three-card hand to determine whether the three-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (g) comparing the dealer's five-card hand with the player's five-card hand to determine whether the five-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; and (h) paying each player a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, three-card, five-card, world and bonus wager.
 12. An apparatus configured for playing a five-card poker game with at least one player and a dealer, the apparatus comprising a display, a player interface for receiving player input, and a processor configured to effect game play, the processor enabling: (a) receiving at least one wager from each player that the player's hand will exceed the dealer's hand, including the options of a one-card wager, three-card wager and a five-card wager; (b) receiving additional wagers as desired by each player; (c) dealing a sequential five-card player hand, presenting a one-card player hand, a three-card player hand and a five-card player hand; (d) dealing a sequential five-card dealer hand, presenting a one-card dealer hand, a three-card dealer hand and a five-card dealer hand; (e) comparing the dealer's one-card hand with the player's one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (f) comparing the dealer's three-card hand with the player's three-card hand; (g) comparing the dealer's five-card hand with the player's five-card hand; and (h) paying each player a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, three-card and five-card wager.
 13. An apparatus configured for playing a five-card poker game with at least one player and a dealer, the apparatus comprising a display, a player interface for receiving player input, and a processor configured to effect game play, the processor enabling: (a) receiving a one-card wager from each player; (b) receiving a three-card wager, a five-card wager, a world wager and a bonus wager as desired by each player; (c) dealing a sequential five-card player hand, presenting a one-card player hand, a three-card player hand and a five-card player hand; (d) dealing a sequential five-card dealer hand, presenting a one-card dealer hand, a three-card dealer hand and a five-card dealer hand; (e) comparing the dealer's one-card hand with the player's one-card hand to determine whether the one-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (f) comparing the dealer's three-card hand with the player's three-card hand to determine whether the three-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; (g) comparing the dealer's five-card hand with the player's five-card hand to determine whether the five-card wager is successful by conventional poker criteria; and (h) paying each player a predetermined amount for each successful one-card, three-card, five-card, world and bonus wager. 